The fact of the matter, whether we like it or not, and usually it's not, is that our sense of self is a social construction.
Something as simple as the language we speak, the names we give to objects of our perception, are handed to us by other people.
Our self concept, self worth, self esteem, self confidence is provided to us by the things other people tell us about ourselves.
You are not your body because it constantly changes, as does your thoughts, your emotions, your social status, your personality. These aspects of the self you think you are constantly change. So what is this self that we cling to and hold so dear?
Have you noticed that the things we think we see in ourselves is what we see in others, both good things and bad things? Other people, other "selves" are a mirror of sorts. George Herbert Meade called in the "looking glass self."
What is behind the social construction? What is it that knows that the self isn't real? It goes by many names. I prefer the term "witness." There is a part of ourselves which is not a part of ourselves that can watch and observe what we call the self.
Some people have a more highly aware sense of their witness while others believe they are merely victims of emotional and social and physical forces they don't understand.
If we are to get really cute, we can also speak of the witness of our witness. So, the question can be asked, "How aware are you of your witness?"
The witness is also called "consciousness." We can ask, "How conscious are you of your state of consciousness?"
The goal of the spiritual life is to achieve pure consciousness which means our egos evaporate. They are no more, and of course they never were. They were just shit we made up.
The idea of the Perennial Philosophy of Aldous Huxley leads one to the idea that God is too big for any one religion. How is it that sometimes people outgrow their religion of childhood? James Fowler, among others, has mapped out a model of spiritual development. Osho says that a person cannot enter into a spiritual life until he/she rebels against childish religious beliefs. Notes On A Spiritual Life intends to explore deeper understandings of an authentic spiritual life.
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